Oy vey

From this article:

[John McCain] spoke briefly during his talk about the need to revive the economy, without delving into specifics -- "People are hurting now, let's not deny that," he said -- but spent more time explaining why his recent European tour had strengthened his commitment to forcing a new global pact on climate change. In the event that global warming proves dangerous, he argued, the U.S. could not afford to allow greenhouse gas emissions to continue rising.

"Don't we have an obligation to the next generation of young Americans here? I think we do. I think we do," he said, adding that such action would please both our allies and younger Americans. "It's a big issue amongst our friends. It's a big issue among our young people. It should be a big issue for all of us."

McCain, who said he would push to make sure any successor to the Kyoto Protocol "includes China and India," declined to comment on the differences between his and the leading Democratic presidential candidates' plans, saying that he was unfamiliar with their plans because they do not have the same long legislative record he boasts in fighting climate change.

"I don't know what their position is because I haven't seen them show any particular commitment in the U.S. Senate or elsewhere" on climate change, he told reporters. "I have proposed legislation and fought for amendments."

In fact, both Clinton and Obama back an 80 percent reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 by mid-century. McCain backs a 60 percent cut over that same time period.

Just a couple of comments:

1. If young people are buying into carbon dioxide hysteria, it's because they haven't yet figured out that you shouldn't blindly accept whatever the mainstream media tells you.

If McCain's people mistakenly think that American voters will support an expensive fight against carbon dioxide, they should really take a hard look at these poll results.

2. Like GE's Jeff Immelt, McCain is clearly part of the problem here. He's clearly participating in an informational cascade, where his acceptance of bad information ends up infecting other people further down the line.

Case in point:

The piece concludes thusly: "On March 11, [Florida Governor] Crist explained the source of his passion (for fighting global warming): 'Do you know who first introduced me to the idea of climate change? It was John McCain.'